Autolysis

Autolysis (literally self-splitting—this is the name for the first stage of decomposition when a body is buried…) is a site-specific exploration of issues around climate change, plant species adaptation/extinction, and personal mortality through a focus on dirt.

Produced collaboratively with Walker Tufts, in June of 2022 for Goethe-Institut Boston’s Studio 170 residency program.

In response the Goethe-Institut’s building and the landscape (historical, socio-cultural and ecological) that surrounds it, Autolysis uses installed elements and participatory experiences to open up conversations about personal relationships with the earth and time in a way that emphasizes the actual material of the earth rather than earth with a capital “E”, creating spaces for gentle contemplation of end of life and end of species issues.

Autolysis is part of an ongoing series of projects that utilize queer sensibilities to investigate dirtyness called Dirty Time.

Photo credits: Heather Kapplow, James Manning, OJ Slaughter.